My head exploded (in a good way)

This is what happens when you visit the Tokyo City Flea Market in Oi Keibajo. You go totally nuts. 

I was hunting for cheap vintage jewelry to tear apart for a new project of mine, and man oh man, do they have what I was looking for. Some treasures there and I didn't spend more than 3000 yen (25$).

Beautiful gemstones, pearls, chain maille, and a lot of bling. All of this is going to be dismantled and.. well, you'll see.

Love those golden squares!

That flea market is held every Saturday and Sunday of the year. Oh dear. I'm gone…

Akiko and Takao's garden

Akiko and Takao's garden is right by the sea, facing Hiroshima bay. You can see the oyster racks floating out there.

It's a beautiful garden. I got a bit excited wanting to take cuttings from the various trees to grow them back in Wakoshi when I remembered that I only have a 3m2 balcony, already packed with 25 bonsai and bonsai wannabes.

I did take some cuttings after all :-)) (Gingko, blueberry, rosemary, maple, firethorn, and a couple of unidentified species) and they seem to have survived the Shinkansen trip back home. So far…

Second class muse

A store in the very chic Omotesando district. Makes me laugh every time I pass in front of it.

Jimbocho Booktown

The neighbourhood of Jimbocho is one of my favourite places for a field trip in Tokyo. Jimbocho is basically a 1km long alignment of used books stores. You can find a bit of everything there, from cheap magazines to pricey collectables a hundred years old. When I visit I mainly look for old books cheap enough to cut up for mail art and the such. I never came home empty handed, but there are good days and bad days, sometimes depending on what the shop keepers are willing to sell you (a bit of a tricky one for me, that's why I only go every six months or so). I will show you last week's catch at Jimbocho in a future blog.

Brushtown in the middle of Booktown?

For sale or lease

I used to like street photography a lot. Real street photography, I mean, not just walking around with my iPad and taking pictures with Instagram. I'm hoping to go back to street style one day in the not-so-far future.

Wizards vs. Magic (Part 2)

I almost forgot that I still owe you Part 2 of Wizards vs. Magic. The photos are not great (it's Instagram after all) but it will help documenting the entertainment. And entertainment there was! Not a dull moment. Thinking back, maybe there was more entertainment show than there was actual basketball. Or something like 50/50. Every time-out, every stoppage of the clock by the referee, every break between quarters had to be filled with… errrrmm…stuff.

Interviews of the players, asking them wether they prefer ducks or horses for instance (true story!).

Because I think they trample you? :-)))

(Rubber duckies won)

A wedding proposal after a fake game where she had no idea. 

The Spot The Gecko game. This was all too fast for me and I didn't quite get it. There must have been a gecko somewhere in the audience, dunno.

The Hot Shot Challenge. One shot to get your mortgage entirely payed off!! Mr.Bradley missed the opportunity, unfortunately.

A choreography by the Wiz Kids.

After this, special guest Private Cooper who came back from the war (I can't remember which war it was he came back from, too many wars going on right now) gave a speech, and we all sang one more welled up national anthem.

The promise of free food chick-fil-a chicken sandwich….

And yes, that visiting player DID miss two consecutive free throws!! Free chick-fil-a chicken sandwich for everyone!!  

The Kiss Cam. The best kissing couple on camera wins two season tickets.

Rub. Got a little shoulder action (?) :-o  I think they won!!

The T-Shirt Toss. Always a favorite.

Well that was a very entertaining evening, thank you Wizards!!

The missing angel

Tonkatsu

Dear Ito Yokado. Your shopping trolleys are too small. Thanks. Sparkle Brown.

That bone soup ramen

How can one ever NOT enter a ramen shop with giant chained bones hanging from the roof??

:-))

Of course Viz and I HAD to try that!

The chef starts his soup at 5am every day, and when the soup "fails" he won't open the shop that day. Or so he says. The soup is made with three different kinds of bones, beef, pork, and I forgot which was the third one. A lot of leek in there as well.

It's a tiny place with just enough space for a small counter (five seats). On the wall, pictures of him taken during a CNN show he featured in with Martha Stuart and….

… Kenny G :-))

Delicious! (much better than what it looks like on the picture)